


Singularity

by antivanitas



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bot Fighting, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Possessive Tadashi, Protective Tadashi, Robotics, Sibling Incest, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-25
Updated: 2015-03-25
Packaged: 2018-03-19 13:22:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3611589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antivanitas/pseuds/antivanitas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I can’t stop you from going, but I’m not gonna let you go on your own.”</p><p>Hiro Hamada has never heard better words in his young life.  He stares, mouth agape and eyes wide, as his brother raises a helmet expectantly.  The cool plastic of his own protective gear feels like fire in his hands; they’re doing this.  They’re actually doing this.  He can show Tadashi everything, show him that bot fighting is actually the coolest phenomenon to hit San Fransokyo.  To hit the world.</p><p>--<br/>What if Tadashi had actually taken Hiro botfighting?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Singularity

**Author's Note:**

> hi! c: i know i havent updated any of the other fics but listen. listen i planned this one all out and i know the ending and u guys are gonna be so excited holy gosh. i'm excited. it's 3:30 in the morning and i have school tomorrow but I HAD TO GET THIS OUT TO YOU lmfao

“I can’t stop you from going, but I’m not gonna let you go on your own.”

Hiro Hamada has never heard better words in his young life.  He stares, mouth agape and eyes wide, as his brother raises a helmet expectantly.  The cool plastic of his own protective gear feels like fire in his hands; they’re doing this.  They’re _actually_ doing this.  He can show Tadashi everything, show him that bot fighting is actually the _coolest_ phenomenon to hit San Fransokyo.  To hit the _world_.

“Sweet,” he breathes.  He’s bounding down the stairs in the next second faster than Tadashi can realistically keep up.  But Hiro’s eighteen year old body is a little lither than his brother’s towering form.  He feels safer going with his brother, anyway.  The guy has muscle definition, okay?  It’s intimidating.

Hiro feels his entire _soul_ vibrating.  Bot fighting with Tadashi.  He never thought he’d ever think something like that.  His brother has been such a tight ass for so long that Hiro’s forgotten his brother even _likes_ to have fun.  Spending all those nights alone at his nerd school must have really gotten into his head.  He needs a night out, doesn’t he?  An exciting night.

Hiro is more than willing to give that to him.

Aunt Cass glares at Tadashi when the bell of the café chimes like an alarm.  He raises his hands in defense.  Hiro thinks he looks stupid and like he’s _obviously_ lying his ass off, considering Hiro’s got Megabot clutched between his clammy fingers.  “Relax, I’m just going to show him the school.  I forgot something earlier.”

“You both better be back by midnight,” she grumbles.  Stuffing a powdered donut in her mouth, she grabs Mochi and drags the cat off the counter.  “I mean it—if I have to hear _one_ more call from the police, you’re both _grounded_!”

Hiro can’t help it; he rolls his eyes.  “You’ve never grounded us.  We’re adults, anyway, is that even legal?”

Before she can respond with a restriction for his sass talk, Tadashi pushes Hiro’s shorter body out the front door and waves to their aunt awkwardly.  “We’ll be back, promise.  Don’t wait up for us!”

The door closes with finality. 

Once outside, he bounds to Tadashi’s moped.  The damn thing can _move_ , which is something he discovered earlier, and that had been unexpected.  It’s the perfect getaway after getting in scrapes with less than pleasurable company.  He wonders silently if Tadashi has any idea what they could do to the street fighting industry if they both entered the fray.

God.  They’d be unstoppable.  He shoves the thought away before he gets any ideas.

By now, the streets of San Fransokyo are dark and lifeless.  Tadashi effortlessly navigates them as Hiro gives him basic directions.  The thing about bot fights?  They’re never entirely obvious.  Sometimes Hiro’s been cheated out of a good four hundred dollars because he couldn’t even find the venue.  But hiding from cops is a lot more important than losing a night’s worth of profit.

The hum of Tadashi’s bike and the gentle rhythm of his breathing calms Hiro and his rapidly beating heart.  Even though he _knows_ , really, that Tadashi will adore bot fighting when he sees it, there’s still the possibility that his overprotective brother could find enough fault to never let him leave the apartment again.  He drops his nose to the nape of Tadashi’s neck and stares at the road ahead.

“Promise you’ll like it,” he mumbles, and Megabot feels heavy in his grip.

Tadashi rumbles with laughter that he can’t quite hear over the motor and the wind.  “Promise to like what keeps getting you into legal trouble?  That’ll be the day.”

“I mean it,” Hiro groans.  “This stuff is important to me.  Keep an open mind, at least?  Dude, come _on_ , it’s right up your alley.”

Speaking of alleys, Tadashi makes a rapid turn and speeds up one.  Hiro knows exactly why the second he sees the telltale flicker of sparks against the brick and the abandoned trash cans.  This is…not a good part of town.  Is this really the bot fight he was looking at online?  It seems a little far off the mark.

Still, he doesn’t speak.  Better to do something dangerous than do nothing at all.

The ring comes into view and Tadashi visibly tenses.  Hiro knows that his brother is nervous when his jaw clenches and his eyebrows furrow just the slightest bit.  He almost suggests that they turn around and never come back, but Tadashi’s already parking on the side of the alley and throwing down the kick stand.

 _We don’t have to do this_ , Hiro thinks.  _We can walk away now_.

“You coming, bonehead?”

It’s not official.  Hiro can see that as he timidly walks past Tadashi and enters the crowd of people watching the ring.  The judge is a tall, lanky, dark skinned man with clothes that remind Hiro of a cyber punk movie.  He’s got a pensive look on his face but there’s no obvious sign up process, so Hiro knows they’re just randomly taking opponents.

The bot in the ring that’s actually winning looks easy enough.  Hiro eyes it nonchalantly while the warmth of Tadashi’s chest presses against his back protectively.  It looks like a Transformer with rotor blades for arms.  Hiro leans in towards Tadashi and whispers, “That’s, like, the most common weapon.  Easy to install, don’t take any power, cause the most destruction.  That’s why I made Megabot invincible to them.”

Tadashi ruffles his hair and Hiro notices that the gesture pulls the two closer together.  He must be nervous, being surrounded by so many people he doesn’t trust.  Being in this part of town.  “Wow, you actually _do_ use your brain sometimes.”

Hiro elbows him.

He hears the brutal scrape of metal on metal as the opponent robot is completely torn to shreds by the rotary blades.  An amateur, for sure; no one else would be so vulnerable to those wheels of death.  Hiro can’t help but smirk when he knows the competition gives him something fun to do.

“Who’s next?” the judge asks calmly.  He’s quite a juxtaposition to the woman earlier tonight who had to shout to get everyone to quiet down.  Hiro eyes him up and decides it’s now or never.  Tadashi’s right behind him as he steps up to the plate and waves his hand.

“Can I try?” he asks innocently.  He can practically feel Tadashi rolling his eyes at his obvious hustling attempt.  “I’ve got money!”

There’s a chorus of laughter and the judge regards him with slim, dark eyes that seem to pierce right through the bubble of his lie.  He’s got a faded scar down one cheek and Hiro knows he probably doesn’t take much bullshit, but to his surprise, the man just quirks an eyebrow and motions with his hand for the cash.

Smiling widely, Hiro places his money into the pool and plops himself down on the ground in front of the ring, where the whirring from the other robot calls his attention.  Hiro isn’t worried; what a way to impress his brother on the first try.  This fight will be cake, just like the one against Yama.  And he notices his opponent jokingly place more money into the pool than he should. 

Confidence blooms in Hiro’s chest.  Megabot waddles forward at first, and the black-haired muscular man sitting across from him gives a hearty laugh.  “Kid, you don’t have to do this—I hate stealin’ from babies.”

The rotary blades spin dangerously.  Hiro just shrugs and pulls out his extended remote while the man stares on in confusion and the crowd goes quiet.  Tadashi’s eyes burn into his back, and he’s very proud of the fact that his voice doesn’t shake when he speaks.

“Y’know, I didn’t even _lie_ this time.  You guys are getting too easy to fool.”

Somewhere in the crowd, a voice yells, “It’s that Hamada kid!” before the fight begins with a snap of the judge’s finger.

Megabot comes to life with a few clicks of his remote control and he hears gasps among the crowd.  The other guy’s bot has no chance; Megabot completely destroys it, ripping it limb from limb in a matter of seconds.  It’s completely unsalvageable by the time he’s done with it.  Sparks fly as the robot finally stops functioning and Hiro _knows_ that was his fastest match to date.

“Getting pretty good with this thing,” he mutters to himself.  “Anyway, sorry about that; a game is a game, right?”

For the second time that night, he collects wads of cash while onlookers stare in shock.  His shoulders tense as he smolders under the judge’s keen gaze, but he manages to stuff his pockets and walk away, Tadashi in tow.  He doesn’t even bother looking back, doesn’t think about it as he climbs on Tadashi’s moped and they speed away before angry shouts disappear behind them.

Hiro suddenly realizes he’s shaking.  His chest shakes with breathless laughter—he fucking did it.  It’s the first time he’s been able to hustle and get away without bodily harm and the _only_ reason it worked was because of Tadashi.  He wraps his arms tightly around his brother’s waist and clutches at his clothes, as if to make sure he’s still here.  To make sure he’s still got his brother’s back.

“I know you probably thought it was lame,” he starts rambling, “But holy _shit_ , bro.  I killed it!  I destroyed the competition!  And I got _paid_ —you get _at least_ half of this, dude, I’d be getting beat up right now if it weren’t for you—man, did you see his _face_?  I must have beaten him in ten seconds flat!”

Tadashi nods tightly.  Hiro’s heart sinks as they round a corner.  “Was it really that bad?”

There’s an uncomfortable silence.

Hiro bows his head.  “I’m sorry.  I mean, I know it’s dangerous—I do!  But it’s so _fun_ , dude.  Like, this is what I’m supposed to be doing.  I’m _good_ at this.”

Tadashi’s voice is unreadable when he replies.  “You’re good at a lot of things.”

“But _this_.  This is what I need to do.  I mean, with more resources?  With better material?  I could get _really_ far!  Imagine if I ended up going to the championships.”

They round the final corner just as Tadashi’s phone sets off a midnight alarm.  Hiro can’t believe his brother was so paranoid that he set an _alarm_ for them to get back on time.  Still, he’s glad he’s not about to get another lecture from Aunt Cass.  Tadashi is still suspiciously silent as they quietly enter the café and lock it up, and he doesn’t even say a word after they climb the stairs to the attic.

Hiro drops Megabot unceremoniously on the bed.  “Hey, I—I’m really sorry.  I know this isn’t what Mom and Dad would want.  It’s not what anyone else wants, but I _love_ this.  Please don’t make me stop doing it.”

Tadashi turns.  The lighting in their room is dim and Hiro can barely make out his expression through the heavy shadows casting across his face.  When he starts to strip, Hiro respectfully looks away and plops himself down on his bed, fiddling with his fingers.

He really fucked up, didn’t he?  He should have just stayed home—what is he, two hundred richer?  Is it really worth getting the silent treatment from Tadashi?  Groaning, he falls back and stares at the ceiling.  He shouldn’t have even _tried_.

A weight presses down next to him.  He glances over as Tadashi settles next to him, shirtless and wearing his pajama bottoms.  The light from the street filters in through the blinds and makes his expression so much more intense.  Hiro swallows and Tadashi’s dark eyes follow the movement.

“I want to help,” he says.

What?

“What.”  Hiro blinks and rapidly turns in place.  Tadashi isn’t breaking out into laughter or even _smirking_.  His face is deadpan and Hiro feels the breath leave his lungs entirely.  Why does he have to _look_ like that?  “You can’t be serious.  Help _how_?”

“You said you wanted to get to the championships,” he says, shrugging and propping himself up on one elbow.  “That’s more respectable, right?  Better pay, a reputation, and you could tour the world kicking everyone’s ass.”

Hiro stumbles over his words.  He gets up on his knees and pushes Tadashi’s shoulder, nearly knocking him off the mattress.  “Dude!  You need _sponsors_ for the big leagues.  I don’t know anyone who would be willing to do that.  And besides, those bots are bigger—making a championship bot would take, I dunno, an _entire_ year.  And even then, where would I get the money?  The materials?  Why are you _laughing_?”

Tadashi’s chest shakes with laughter and he grins smugly up at his younger brother.  “I have a bot.  I made him at school for my robotics final.”

… _What_.

“You have a bot?” Hiro repeats.  “But…but you’re a nursing minor.  We need a _fighting_ bot.”

“He’s got the capacity for three more full functions.  He might need modification, sure, but—y’know, we made a good team tonight.  We could make pretty good money and build him up.”

Hiro bites his lip to hide his grin but it shows anyway.  He pokes Tadashi’s bare chest and says, “Oh, Mr. Perfect is actually considering illicit activity?  I must have created a monster.”

“Tomorrow,” Tadashi says.  He sits up and he’s way too close for Hiro’s comfort.  “Tomorrow we’ll go back out and come back with enough money to modify my bot.  Someone’s bound to notice us sooner or later.  You’re already pretty well known.”

Hiro just shakes his head incredulously.  “Unbelievable.”

Tadashi taps his brother’s nose with his pointer finger.  “It’s _called_ looking for a new angle.”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm genderfluidstanmarsh on tumblr uwu


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